How far can Nim in disguise be stretched?

A move in the game of nim consists of taking any positive number of tokens from a single pile. Suppose we add the class of moves of taking a nonnegative number of tokens jointly from all the piles. We give a complete answer to the question which moves in the class can be adjoined without changing the winning strategy of nim. The results apply to other combinatorial games with unbounded Sprague-Grundy function values. We formulate two weakened conditions of the notion of nim-sum 0 for proving the results.Comment: To appear in J. Combinatorial Theory (A

Teaching Respect, Inclusion, and Acceptance in Ethnically and Culturally Diverse Early Childhood Classrooms

Given the increasingly diverse demographics of American public schools, it is necessary for teachers who are interested in exposing their students to concepts of inclusion, respect, and acceptance to have access to a resource guide and model for implementing a curriculum that is culturally and ethnically inclusive. This project sought to develop a resource guide for teachers of early childhood in schools to teach about inclusion, respect, and acceptance in a diverse classroom setting. This resource will be useful for teachers in grades Transitional Kindergarten, Kindergarten, first and second in creating a safe space to celebrate students’ differences and increase their knowledge and understanding about each other’s cultures and traditions

Recent Analytical Methods for the Analysis of Sweeteners in Food: A Regulatory Perspective

Non-nutritive or low calorie sweeteners are commonly used worldwide in the food industry, often in combination in order to limit undesirable tastes. The list of allowable sweeteners varies among countries and it is important for regulatory agencies and food safety laboratories to monitor these highly consumed products to ensure compliance with worldwide regulations. Current analytical methods for confirmation and quantification of sweeteners must allow for confirmation of analyte identity in order to be compatible with today’s standards. Various methods for the determination of non-nutritive sweeteners have been reported in the literature. Th e most common multi-sweetener methods involve high performance liquid Th chromatography (HPLC) with different types of detection. The modern technique of HPLC-MS/MS is the current method of choice for the determination and confirmation of sweeteners in foods. In addition to multi-sweetener analyses there is also a need for single sweetener analytical methods in certain circumstances

Is it worth the effort? Evaluating a Third Generation Research Method for a Third Generation Approach to the First Year Experience in Higher Education

: The first year experience of students studying at higher education institutions has been intensively studied over the past forty years (Nelson & Clarke, 2014). Much has been learnt, but institutions are continuing to face unacceptable levels of student withdrawal. Concerns have been raised that the constructs on which previous studies have been based may be restricting researchers’ efforts to develop a deeper understanding of the first year phenomena (Kahu, 2013). There is strong support for new and creative ways to investigate the lived experience of first year students across their full first year of study. This paper details and discusses these issues and reports on a research approach using an Experience Sampling Method (ESM) with first year pre-service teachers that may better capture student perceptions of the factors they believe have a marked effect on their experiences. The authors contend the method is transferable to all first year university students. The ESM strategy applied to the first year university experience is explained in detail as well as the perceptions of the participants with regard to its effectiveness and impact. The results of the study provide a strong base for future discussions about third generation research methods and the use of an ‘insider researcher’ approach to investigating the first year experience

Effects of an eccentric inner Jupiter on the dynamical evolution of icy body reservoirs in a planetary scattering scenario

Aims. We analyze the dynamics of small body reservoirs under the effects of an eccentric inner giant planet resulting from a planetary scattering event around a 0.5 M⊙ star. Methods. First, we used a semi-analytical model to define the properties of the protoplanetary disk that lead to the formation of three Jupiter-mass planets. Then, we carried out N-body simulations assuming that the planets are close to their stability limit together with an outer planetesimal disk. In particular, the present work focused on the analysis of N-body simulations in which a single Jupiter-mass planet survives after the dynamical instability event. Results. Our simulations produce outer small body reservoirs with particles on prograde and retrograde orbits, and other ones whose orbital plane flips from prograde to retrograde and back again along their evolution (“Type-F particles”). We find strong correlations between the inclination i and the ascending node longitude Ω of Type-F particles. First, Ω librates around 90° or/and 270°. This property represents a necessary and sufficient condition for the flipping of an orbit. Moreover, the libration periods of i and Ω are equal and they are out to phase by a quarter period. We also remark that the larger the libration amplitude of i, the larger the libration amplitude of Ω. We analyze the orbital parameters of Type-F particles immediately after the instability event (post IE orbital parameters), when a single Jupiter-mass planet survives in the system. Our results suggest that the orbit of a particle can flip for any value of its post IE eccentricity, although we find only two Type-F particles with post IE inclinations i ≲ 17°. Finally, our study indicates that the minimum value of the inclination of the Type-F particles in a given system decreases with an increase in the eccentricity of the giant planet.Fil: Zanardi, Macarena. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata; ArgentinaFil: de Elia, Gonzalo Carlos. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Di Sisto, Romina Paula. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas; ArgentinaFil: Naoz, S.. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Li, G.. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics; Estados UnidosFil: Guilera, O. M.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas; ArgentinaFil: Brunini, A.. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral; Argentin

Dendritic Cells Charged with Apoptotic Tumor Cells Induce Long-Lived Protective CD4+ and CD8+ T Cell Immunity against B16 Melanoma

Dendritic cells (DCs) are potent APCs and attractive vectors for cancer immunotherapy. Using the B16 melanoma, a poorly immunogenic experimental tumor that expresses low levels of MHC class I products, we investigated whether DCs loaded ex vivo with apoptotic tumor cells could elicit combined CD4+ and CD8+ T cell dependent, long term immunity following injection into mice. The bone marrow-derived DCs underwent maturation during overnight coculture with apoptotic melanoma cells. Following injection, DCs migrated to the draining lymph nodes comparably to control DCs at a level corresponding to ∼0.5% of the injected inoculum. Mice vaccinated with tumor-loaded DCs were protected against an intracutaneous challenge with B16, with 80% of the mice remaining tumor-free 12 wk after challenge. CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were efficiently primed in vaccinated animals, as evidenced by IFN-γ secretion after in vitro stimulation with DCs loaded with apoptotic B16 or DCs pulsed with the naturally expressed melanoma Ag, tyrosinase-related protein 2. In addition, B16 melanoma cells were recognized by immune CD8 + T cells in vitro, and cytolytic activity against tyrosinase-related protein 2180-188-pulsed target cells was observed in vivo. When either CD4+ or CD8+ T cells were depleted at the time of challenge, the protection was completely abrogated. Mice receiving a tumor challenge 10 wk after vaccination were also protected, consistent with the induction of tumor-specific memory. Therefore, DCs loaded with cells undergoing apoptotic death can prime melanoma-specific helper and CTLs and provide long term protection against a poorly immunogenic tumor in mice

H3 histamine receptor-mediated activation of protein kinase calpha inhibits the growth of cholangiocarcinoma in vitro and in vivo

Histamine regulates functions via four receptors (HRH1, HRH2, HRH3, and HRH4). The D-myo-inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP(3))/Ca(2+)/protein kinase C (PKC)/mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway regulates cholangiocarcinoma growth. We evaluated the role of HRH3 in the regulation of cholangiocarcinoma growth. Expression of HRH3 in intrahepatic and extrahepatic cell lines, normal cholangiocytes, and human tissue arrays was measured. In Mz-ChA-1 cells stimulated with (R)-(alpha)-(-)-methylhistamine dihydrobromide (RAMH), we measured (a) cell growth, (b) IP(3) and cyclic AMP levels, and (c) phosphorylation of PKC and mitogen-activated protein kinase isoforms. Localization of PKC alpha was visualized by immunofluorescence in cell smears and immunoblotting for PKC alpha in cytosol and membrane fractions. Following knockdown of PKC alpha, Mz-ChA-1 cells were stimulated with RAMH before evaluating cell growth and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)-1/2 phosphorylation. In vivo experiments were done in BALB/c nude mice. Mice were treated with saline or RAMH for 44 days and tumor volume was measured. Tumors were excised and evaluated for proliferation, apoptosis, and expression of PKC alpha, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A, VEGF-C, VEGF receptor 2, and VEGF receptor 3. HRH3 expression was found in all cells. RAMH inhibited the growth of cholangiocarcinoma cells. RAMH increased IP(3) levels and PKC alpha phosphorylation and decreased ERK1/2 phosphorylation. RAMH induced a shift in the localization of PKC alpha expression from the cytosolic domain into the membrane region of Mz-ChA-1 cells. Silencing of PKC alpha prevented RAMH inhibition of Mz-ChA-1 cell growth and ablated RAMH effects on ERK1/2 phosphorylation. In vivo, RAMH decreased tumor growth and expression of VEGF and its receptors; PKC alpha expression was increased. RAMH inhibits cholangiocarcinoma growth by PKC alpha-dependent ERK1/2 dephosphorylation. Modulation of PKC alpha by histamine receptors may be important in regulating cholangiocarcinoma growth. (Mol Cancer Res 2009;7(10):1704-13